Video signal processing system with auxiliary information processing capability

• US 7,522,219 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2002
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Carlsgaard, Eric Stephen, Forler, Joseph Wayne, Testin, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yenke; Brian P
• Application Number:
  US10/153,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20020186320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,526 Days
• Field of Search: 348/465, 348/468, 348473-474, 348/556, 348/554, 348563-566, 348/569, 348/584, 348/588, 348/597, 348/598
• US Class Current: 348/584
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4355 involving reformatting operations of additional data, e.g. HTML pages on a television screen optimising the visualization of content for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/9577; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/066; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/012 Conversion between an interlaced and a progressive signal for graphics images G09G2310/0229

Abstract

A system as described herein enables a user to access auxiliary information when viewing an enhanced performance television signal or program. Particularly, a television signal system is operative, configured, and/or enabled to allow a user to access and/or utilize auxiliary information when viewing a high definition or progressive-scan television signal. Briefly, an exemplary television signal system receives the auxiliary information/data (e.g. closed caption data) on a selected interlaced standard definition input, processes the auxiliary data, and combines or overlays the auxiliary data with a television (video) signal received on a selected input that does not have its own embedded auxiliary information/data. More particularly, an exemplary television signal system such as described herein involves using closed caption (CC) data from a standard definition signal, processing the CC data, and overlaying the CC data at a video rate of a higher definition signal selected for viewing that does not carry its own embedded closed caption data.

Claims

1. In a television signal processing apparatus, a method for controlling display of video information comprising the steps of:

processing a first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information to provide a signal representing a first television program included in said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information;

automatically correlating said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information to a second television signal of a second format including auxiliary information, said auxiliary information included in said second television signal of a second format being associated with said first television program, upon user selection of said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information;

processing said correlated second television signal of a second format to obtain said auxiliary information associated with said first television program; and

combining the auxiliary information from the correlated second television signal of a second format with said signal representing a first television program from said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information to produce a combined video signal representing a displayable image that includes said first television program from said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information and the auxiliary information from said correlated second television signal of a second format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the second television signal of the second format to obtain auxiliary information associated with the first television program includes the step of obtaining closed caption information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the second television signal of the second format comprises the step of processing a standard definition format television signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of processing the standard definition format television signal includes the step of processing an NTSC format television signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the first television signal of the first format includes the step of processing a high definition television signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of processing the high definition television signal includes the step of processing one of a progressive-scan television signal, a digital high definition RGB/television signal, and a digital high definition YCrCb television signal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of combining the auxiliary information associated with said first television program from the second television signal of the second format with the signal representing the first television program from the first television signal of the first format to produce a combined video signal representing a displayable image that includes the television program and the auxiliary information includes the step of overlaying the auxiliary information from the second television signal associated with said first television program of the second format onto the signal representing the first television program.

8. A television signal processing apparatus comprising:

means for processing a first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information to provide a signal representing a first television program included in the first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information;

means for processing a second television signal of a second format to obtain auxiliary information associated with the first television program;

means for automatically correlating said first television signal of said first format lacking auxiliary information to said auxiliary information associated with said first television program of said second television signal of a second format upon user selection of the first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information; and

means for combining the auxiliary information from the second television signal of the second format with the signal representing a first television program from the first television signal of the first format lacking auxiliary information to produce a combined video signal representing a displayable image that includes the television program from said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information and the auxiliary information from said correlated second television signal of a second format.

9. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for processing the second television signal of the second format to obtain auxiliary information associated with the first television program includes means for obtaining closed caption information.

10. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for processing the second television signal of the second format comprises means for processing a standard definition format television signal.

11. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for processing the standard definition format television signal includes means for processing an NTSC format television signal.

12. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for processing the first television signal of the first format includes means for processing a high definition television signal.

13. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for processing the high definition television signal includes means for processing one of a progressive-scan television signal, a digital high definition RGB television signal, and a digital high definition YCrCb television signal.

14. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for combining the auxiliary information associated with said first television program from the second television signal of the second format with the signal representing the first television program from the first television signal of the first format to produce a combined video signal representing a displayable image that includes the television program and the auxiliary information includes means for overlaying the auxiliary information associated with said first television program from the second television signal of the second format onto the signal representing a television program.

15. A television signal processing apparatus comprising:

a first processor operative to receive and process a first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information to provide a signal representing a first television program included in the first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information;

a second processor operative to receive and process a second television signal of a second format to obtain auxiliary information associated with the first television program;

a correlator for automatically correlating said first television signal of said first format lacking auxiliary information with said second television signal of said second format having auxiliary information associated with said first television program upon user selection of the first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information; and

a combiner in communication with the first and second processors and operative to combine the auxiliary information of the correlated second television signal of a second format associated with said first television program with the signal representing the first television signal of the first format lacking auxiliary information to produce a combined video signal representing a displayable image that includes the first television program from said first television signal of a first format lacking auxiliary information and the associated auxiliary information from said correlated second television signal of a second format.

16. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second processor includes a closed caption processor.

17. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second processor includes a standard definition format television signal processor.

18. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 17, wherein the standard definition format television signal processor includes an NTSC format television signal processor.

19. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first processor includes a high definition television signal processor.

20. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the high definition television signal processor includes one of a progressive-scan television signal processor, a digital high definition RGB television signal processor, and a digital high definition YCrCb television signal processor.

21. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the combiner includes an overlay fast switch operative to overlay the auxiliary information associated with said first television program from the second television signal of the second format onto the signal representing the first television program.

22. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the auxiliary information associated with said first television program from the second television signal of the second format comprises program guide data and the program guide data is used to select the first television signal of the first format based on an association with a program on the second television signal of the second format.

23. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 16, wherein the closed caption information is overlaid when an audio mute command is received and the closed caption information is not overlaid when the audio mute is turned off.

24. The television signal processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the HDTV signal processing and/or the auxiliary information processor contains delay processing to align the video and the data before sending to the overlay processing.